AUSTRAC published industry counts, not one national total

People want a headcount because a webinar said “thousands” and a LinkedIn post said something more precise. Checked against AUSTRAC's enrolment overview on 5 October 2026. The enrolment-progress table on that page is dated as of 17 September 2026, and the page was last updated on 18 September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. The deadline those businesses were working to is 29 July 2026. The 28-day rule is enrol within 28 days. When the services started is 1 July 2026. The sector map is /tranche-2.

The figures AUSTRAC actually printed

Under the heading “Enrolment progress by industry”, AUSTRAC said it was supporting businesses preparing for their new AML/CTF obligations, and that the table was an overview of enrolment activity as of 17 September 2026 across new reporting entities by industry. It said the table would be updated regularly. The rows were: accounting and professional services, 13,780; conveyancer, 1,600; jewellers and dealers in precious metals and goods, 320; lawyer, 6,580; real estate, 18,350. Those are the numbers. They are large enough, in real estate and in accounting, to show that enrolment was well underway weeks after 29 July 2026. They are not a sentence that says “X businesses have enrolled in total”.

A reader can add the five counts. This page will not print that addition as if AUSTRAC had published it. Adding rounded industry figures can double-count a business that fits two labels, or miss a label AUSTRAC did not include. The page does not explain the rounding, and several of the counts end in a round ten. Treat them as AUSTRAC's published snapshot, not as an audited census. If you quote them, quote the date of the snapshot and the date you read the page. A figure without those dates will be wrong the next time AUSTRAC updates the table.

What the table is not

• Not a compliance rate. Enrolled is not the same as “program adopted” or “staff trained”.
• Not a fine. Nothing on that table is an enforcement outcome. Do not invent penalties from a headcount.
• Not your firm's status. Your answer is whether you provide a designated service and whether your own enrolment was submitted.
• Not a reason to wait. AUSTRAC's rule is still to enrol within 28 days of starting to provide the service. A busy industry count does not extend your clock.
• Not stable. The page says the table will be updated. Write the “as of” date next to any number you repeat.

How to use the numbers in a partners' meeting

They answer “are we the only ones?”. You are not, if you are in one of those industries. They do not answer “are we late?”. Late is about your own start date and the 28-day rule, or about the 29 July 2026 date if you were already providing a new designated service from 1 July 2026. They do not answer “what will it cost us?”. Cost is your program, your time, and any check the client pays. A sector count does not change the list price.

If a slide in a sales deck shows a different total, ask which AUSTRAC page and which date. A round number in a keynote is not this table. FreeAML does not publish an enrolment statistic of its own, and it does not need your industry's headcount to run a check.

Where this page stops

This page is the published count. It is not the enrolment form. The form is walked through in the AUSTRAC enrolment form guide.

What the client pays

On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. The firm emails the client a link. Verification is client-pays. On the public list a personal KYC check is A$20 and a company or trust KYB check is A$40. There is no subscription. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. Enrolment numbers do not change the price. FreeAML does not charge by industry headcount.

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